A new report published today says that high unemployment levels in the South's seaside towns are blighting the region's economy. The study published by the Sheffield Hallam University claims that the number of people out of work is higher than official figures suggest.

Researchers found that outside of London, 16 of the 21 districts with the highest unemployment in Southern England are located along the coast.

The new report, from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), estimates that the real rate of unemployment in Hastings is more than 13 per cent; in Thanet more than 12 per cent, and in Southend 10 per cent.

New figures released by the Office of National Statistics shows that 2,000 more people were classed as unemployed in the South East between March and May of this year. The unemployment rate for the region is 6.4% against a national rate of 8.2%.

One man from Sussex is so desperate to find a job he's put himself up for sale on an internet auction site. Jason Shaw from Portslade has spent the last year out of work - he says he'll do anything. Click on the video for the full story

A jobs "fair" has been held in Thanet. The Employment Minister was in Margate - one of the town's hit hardest by unemployment, to see for himself the problem. Within two hours, more than a thousand people had attended, with more due this afternoon.

Figures out today have revealed that - despite a fall in unemployment nationally - the number of people out of work in the South East went up by 2,000. And it's feared that, as the Eurozone crisis deepens, it will have an impact on unemployment in the UK.